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Month: February 2024

Keeping an eye on your data

Posted on by Jonathan Reichental

Every business today is a technology business, each generating vast amounts of data. This has created remarkable opportunities and challenges.

The datasphere, the term for all the data we’ve created so far, is around 100 zettabytes and it’s going to double in about three years. A zettabyte, a term unfamiliar to many, is a large number. It’s one followed by 21 zeros. To put this in perspective, you’d need one billion terabyte hard drives to store one zettabyte of data. This scale of data and the velocity in which it is being created is consequential for every organisation.

Data is the most valuable asset

A consensus has formed in the business and data communities that data has now reached a point in which it is the most important asset in every organisation. My own research validates this.

Quality data at scale can contain remarkable answers and insights. With the right skills and tools, organisations can leverage data to enable improved decision-making and optimised operations. They can use data to drive competitive advantage, unleash innovation, and solve a wide range of intractable problems for business and society.

But achieving these results with data doesn’t happen without deliberate effort. The power of data is only realised through skillful governance.

The importance of governance

Whether we call it data governance or not, every organisation has some form of oversight for the data it handles. It could be as simple as knowing that data is being backed-up, or where certain data is located and who has access to it. Data governance, informal and formal, spans a wide continuum of approaches. However, it all comes down to this: is data being fully managed in the organisation and is its value being realised?

So, what does this actually mean in practice?

Defining data governance

At a high level, we can define data governance as data that is managed well. In aspiring to achieve high performance in managing data, we must ask to what degree are there agreed policies and processes for handling, for example, sensitive, legal, and regulatory data requirements? Are there documented accountabilities, formal decision structures, and enforcement rules for data? The right talent, processes, and technologies must exist. These are some of the many core attributes of good governance.

Today, the governance and management of data has become an actual science. There’s a wide range of data science professions and supporting educational programs. Software for supporting these professions has exploded in recent years, including incredible solutions for analytics, visualisation, and more. Increasingly, they are being powered by artificial intelligence.

Governance is a choice

In the absence of quality data governance, an organisation will never fully realise the potential of data and in fact, may subject itself to increasing levels of risk over time. These risks include inadvertently using bad data, experiencing privacy challenges, and suffering from the consequences of weak cybersecurity.

The demand for high-quality data governance and its promise is quickly making it a core function of an increasing number of organisations. Data can create important value for every organisation and to achieve this in an optimum fashion requires high-performing data governance. If it’s implemented well, it can be transformational.

Dr. Jonathan Reichental is a multiple-award-winning technology and business leader whose career has spanned both the private and public sectors. He’s been a senior software engineering manager, a director of technology innovation, and has served as chief information officer at both O’Reilly Media and the City of Palo Alto, California. Reichental is currently the founder of advisory, investment, and education firm, Human Future, and also creates online education for LinkedIn Learning. He has written three books on the future of cities: Smart Cities for Dummies, Exploring Smart Cities Activity Book for Kids, and Exploring Cities Bedtime Rhymes. His latest books include Data Governance for Dummies and a Cryptocurrency QuickStart Guide.

Read more articles like this from QS Insights Magazine, Issue 13.

Thammasat co-organized an international academic conference, ‘Language Education and Thai Studies

Posted on by Thammasat University

Faculty of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University in collaboration with Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music and partner universities from abroad organized an international academic conference in Language Education and Thai Studies on the topic “Diversity and Perspectives in Language Education and Thai studies” at Iconsiam, Khlong San District, Bangkok.

This international academic conference is one of the side activities celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhan aKrom Luang Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra. The objective is to provide an opportunity for those interested, both Thais and foreigners, to present contents, concepts, theories, and educational methods related to the science of language education and issues related to Thai studies which have developed and changed. This is regarded as the dissemination of knowledge and the exchange of diverse perspectives and ideas in order to expand the knowledge in such sciences and education on a large scale.

Within the conference, there were music and cultural performances such as classical music performances in the ‘Kaew Kanlaya’ song and the ‘Saeng Nueng Kue Rung Ngam’ song french edition from the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music and the Kritdaphinihan dance performance from the Faculty of Liberal Arts students, Thammasat University.

In addition, there was an exhibition to promote Thai culture to the world, such as basketry, inhaler making, street food, Thai handicrafts and traditional dance, and the literary work by HRH “The Little Prince, The Young Future King” book translated into English, French and Chinese.

HKAPA Open Day Presents Over A Hundred Free Performing Arts Activities

Posted on by Editorial Team

The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) will present its annual Open Day on March 3 this year, filled with over a hundred free performing arts events prepared by students and faculty from six Schools on the Wanchai Main Campus and the Béthanie Landmark Heritage Campus in Pokfulam of the Academy. Some activities will make use of artificial intelligence (AI) and art technology, providing visitors with an immensely joyful and unique experience.

A wide array of performing arts activities includes a performance by Junior Symphony Orchestra, concerts of Chinese and Western music, excerpt performances of musicals, drama, Cantonese opera, Dance open classes, film and television screenings, as well as guided tours for immersive performing arts activities. Furthermore, visitors can even go to backstage to discover the secrets behind the scenes, including stage design, props and costumes making, as well as stage effects exhibitions, indulging themselves in the world of performing arts on the day. The “HKAPA Digital Stage @Lib” of the Academy Library also allows visitors to step onto different stages as the character of the Academy productions virtually and take a digital photo.

The Academy heartily welcomes everyone to embark on an amazing journey exploring the integration of AI and art technology in performing arts.

About The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (www.hkapa.edu)

The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), established by The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Ordinance in 1984, is a leading tertiary institution in the performing arts in Asia. It provides professional undergraduate education and practice-based postgraduate studies. The study encompasses Chinese Opera, Dance, Drama, Film and Television, Music, and Theatre and Entertainment Arts. Its educational philosophy reflects the cultural diversity of Hong Kong with emphasis on Chinese and Western traditions, and interdisciplinary learning. Since 2008, the Academy has attained the Programme Area Accreditation (PAA) status awarded by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) to self-monitor and accredit its own undergraduate and post-secondary programmes in the five programme areas of Dance, Drama, Film and Television, Music, and Theatre and Entertainment Arts. Since 2016, the PAA status has been extended to cover Master’s Degree programmes and below; and since 2023, the programmes operated by the School of Chinese Opera accredited by HKCAAVQ has also received PAA status for its post-secondary and undergraduate programmes.

Besides the main campus in Wanchai, Béthanie, the site of the Academy’s Landmark Heritage Campus in Pokfulam, has housed training facilities for the School of Film and Television since 2006.

In the QS University Rankings announced in 2023, the Academy ranks 1st in Asia and 13th in the world in the Performing Arts category.

HKAPA Open Day 2024
Sunday, March 3, 2024

Opening Hours

Wanchai Main Campus: 10 am – 5 pm

Béthanie Landmark Heritage Campus: 1 pm – 5 pm*

*Free shuttle bus services between the Wanchai Main Campus and the Béthanie Landmark Heritage Campus in Pokfulam will be provided on a first-come-first-served basis

Free admission, no registration required. For programme details, please visit https://www.hkapa.edu/event/hkapa-open-day2024 and the social media channels of the Academy.

Trailer of HKAPA Open Day 2024: https://youtu.be/1A79I2jMJe

Singapore Management University launches new Urban Institute focused on multi, interdisciplinary study of growing Asian cities

Posted on by Singapore Management University

As Asian cities urbanise at an unprecedented rate in history, young people are moving from rural areas to cities, seeking fairer access to education, jobs, housing, transportation and amenities of liveable city life. As demands on resources intensify, policy-makers are grappling with more complex infrastructural and socio-economic challenges.

Against this backdrop, Singapore Management University (SMU) recently launched the SMU Urban Institute (UI), a new research institute dedicated to the study of human-centred aspects of urbanisation, with a focus on balancing urban growth and sustainability.

Helming the new institute as its Director is SMU Associate Professor of Geography Orlando Woods. He says, “Whilst many urban planning and design models might draw on the examples of Western cities, it has become increasingly important to learn from the Asian urban experience to better understand how to address the challenges faced by our fast-growing cities.”

UI will address the sensory, socio-cultural and economic experiences of living in a city, the inequalities arising from wealth accumulation, and how infrastructure in terms of buildings, policy and regulation might limit or enable the growth of cities. Through a multi-and inter-disciplinary lens focused on Asian cities, the institute will engage with scholars, policymakers, communities and industry as a platform for cities to learn from one another, and explore collaborative solutions for sustainable urban development.

Commitment to collaboration

Underlying its commitment to sharing expertise, SMU inked a partnership with Thammasat University’s Design School at the launch of the institute. This will facilitate the exchange of research materials; students and researchers; and the joint organisation of seminars and symposiums.

SMU UI is also in talks with the University of Melbourne (UniMelb) and the University of Toronto (UOT) on a variety of urban research collaborations. SMU and the Melbourne Centre for Cities are planning to partner in a joint event for regional city leaders at the upcoming World Cities Summit in Singapore; while SMU and UOT have hosted a joint grant call to foster collaborative urban-related research on the theme of “Migration, Thriving and Belonging”.

The research pillars of the new institute

Spanning the disciplines of urban geography, urban and behavioural economics, public policy, operations management and geospatial data analytics, UI will consolidate SMU’s existing urban-related research and generate new research directions. It will focus its research on three pillars.

Urban Life, the first, seeks to explore what makes cities liveable, while Urban Growth studies inequalities and challenges of urban development. The third, Urban Infrastructure, looks at how hard infrastructure (materials) and soft infrastructures (such as social, legal or regulatory constraints) affect how cities evolve.

“Our investment in establishing UI cannot be overstated,” observes SMU President, Professor Lily Kong. She adds: “It is about undertaking deep, rigorous research to enhance our understanding of cities. But more than that, it is about laying the groundwork for liveable, resilient, and inclusive cities in Asia. As Asian cities grow at an unprecedented pace, the transformative potential of the UI becomes even more pronounced.”

UiTM Kedah Branch, Akita International University seal international linkages via MoU

Posted on by Syazliyati Ibrahim

Focusing on the main aim to become a Globally Renowned University and respected globally, the Academy of Language Studies, UiTM Kedah Branch, Malaysia does its part for UiTM by initiating a collaboration with a reputable and prestigious Japanese university, Akita International University. Sealing the linkage between both institutions with an online signing ceremony on 31 January 2024, UiTM Kedah Branch and Akita International University are set to proceed with more mutually beneficial activities.

So far, before signing the MoU, there were already two activities conducted by both institutions. Firstly, Mr. Travis Senzaki, the International Relations Officer was invited to give an online Global Learning talk to more than 100 UiTM students on 8 May 2023. The talk was on how to provide personal responses to a short story. Mr. Travis was invited because he is also a fiction writer. The Global Learning session was organized by a group of English language lecturers led by Puan Syazliyati Ibrahim and assisted by Puan Robekhah Harun, Puan Nor Asni Syahriza Abu Hassan and Puan Sharifah Syakila Syed Shaharuddin.

The second activity conducted was the International Teaching Practicum project held from 1 October 2023 until 31 December 2023. UiTM Kedah Branch received three post-graduate students from AIU who taught three English language diploma classes. The post-graduate students completed three two-hour sessions observing the classes and two two-hour sessions teaching the students. The post-graduate teacher-students are Rintaro Ikegami, Farhana Sarmin and Wenxin Zhang. These AIU students were co-supervised by Puan Syazliyati Ibrahim, Puan Robekhah Harun and Puan Syakirah Mohammed from UiTM and also Professor Hiroki Uchida and Professor Dr. Chris Carl Hale from AIU.

Both universities are grateful and satisfied for the dynamic participation of the lecturers in the activities conducted so far. Going forward after the MoU signing, it is hoped that other useful activities will be planned and executed to benefit the students in producing globally oriented students in the future.

Facing Nuclear Vulnerabilities

Posted on by Editorial Team

How are our nuclear weapon choices made? Who gets a say in making the knowledge that is used to justify these choices? Led by Benoît Pelopidas, Associate Professor at Sciences Po in Paris, NUCLEAR (“Nuclear Weapons Choices. Governing Vulnerabilities between Past and Future”), a 1.5 million euro project funded by the European Research Council (ERC), one of the most competitive and prestigious EU grants, addresses these questions. The project proposes novel concepts of vulnerability and luck and uses original-language primary sources, interviews worldwide and unpublished Europe-wide surveys. Contrary to the common belief that our nuclear choices are driven by objective material realities of international security or rational learning from all available information, it shows the key role of the imagined versions of the future, specific memories of past events or trends, and affects such as nostalgia.

The project empirically documents two types of vulnerability related to nuclear weapons – a material one and an epistemic one. The latter consists of the temptation to disconnect our beliefs from the available evidence. Professor Pelopidas also establishes a method for assessing the role of factors beyond our control – luck – in the avoidance of the knowledge of past nuclear explosions. He documents this using newly available primary sources. The project thus examines the production of nuclear knowledge. It is also the first empirical study of the effects of the conflict of interest in funding of the most influential think tanks on their production of nuclear discourse. It also shows how the effects of nuclear policies on climate change are obscured in the imagined futures. The project re-characterizes the determinants of horizontal proliferation and establishes the lack of consensus in public opinion on nuclear policies in France and the United Kingdom”.

Professor Benoît Pelopidas is Associate Professor of Political Sciences at Sciences Po, Paris. He is the Principal Investigator of the ERC project NUCLEAR.

The NUCLEAR project has already produced in 25 peer-reviewed publications, including the monograph Rethinking Nuclear Choices published by the Presses de Sciences Po in 2022.

REFERENCES

  • Egeland, K., & Pelopidas, B. (2022). “No such thing as a free donation? Research funding and conflicts of interest in nuclear weapons policy analysis”. International Relations.
  • Pelopidas, B. & Verschuren, Sanne C. J. (2023). “Writing IR after COVID-19. Reassessing political possibilities, good faith and policy relevant scholarship on climate change mitigation and nuclear disarmament”. Global Studies Quarterly (early view).
  • Pelopidas, B., Taha, H. & Vaughan, T., (2024).“How dawn turned into dusk: Scoping and closing possible nuclear futures at the end of the Cold War”. Journal of Strategic Studies.
  • Podcast: Nuclear Proliferation, Close Calls, and Luck. Vis a vis. Alliance Program at Columbia University. 09/20/2022.
    https://visavis.podcasts.library.columbia.edu/podcast/nuclear-risks-and-our-false-confidence/
  • Video lecture summarizing the key findings of the project. Scoping Nuclear Weapons Choices in an Age of Existential Threats. Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge. 06/14/2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP0N6B1moRU

Facing Nuclear Vulnerabilities. Cogito. 04/16/2023.

Using the digital tools of the future to boost our understanding of Asia’s past

Posted on by Editorial Team

Today’s historians are able to deploy a range of digital technologies to identify new research sources, analyse historical patterns and uncover once-marginalised voices. They can also visualise, present, and disseminate historical materials and findings, through digital media, and via Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality simulations, to reach ever wider audiences. Most excitingly, the possibilities of some of the latest developments, such as in the field of generative AI, are still yet to be fully explored.

“We could train an AI bot with text from the Han Dynasty, from around 2,000 years ago,” explains Professor Leung, Head of Lingnan University’s Department of History. “Once properly trained, we could then talk to a ‘person’ from the Han Dynasty.”

Prof Leung believes such technologies are opening up unprecedented opportunities for researchers, teachers and students, and enabling the general public to engage with and appreciate history, as never before. To support those aiming to seize these opportunities, Lingnan’s Department of History will launch its new MA programme in Digital History in Global Asia (DHGA) in September 2024.

Lingnan University’s new MA in Digital History in Global Asia

The DHGA will be the first MA of its kind, both within Hong Kong and the wider region, and Lingnan’s liberal arts ethos combined with the Department of History’s teaching talent, make the university the ideal home for such a programme.

“We hope to train our students to, first, use the tools really well and then to understand the meaning of the new data that is generated,” Prof Leung says.

The focus on Asia’s global past in the programme is intended to provide students with concrete material to apply the digital tools to. What’s more, many of the early developments in the digital humanities, digital history and geographical information systems, were made by scholars in Asian studies.

“One of the first corpuses of text fully digitised was the Buddhist corpus,” Prof Leung notes. This track record provides the MA with deep foundations to build on, and Asia continues to be at the forefront of the evolution of digital history.

Preparation for an exciting future

The skills and understandings to be gained on the DHGA programme are in demand in a range of fields, such as education, the creative media, cultural management, heritage preservation, information science, programming, and academia.

The programme’s four core courses are designed to provide foundational knowledge, while the elective courses will explore digital tools and their potential uses. Students will learn to use a range of digital applications for historical research, including: QGIS (Geographic information Systems mapping); Gephi, Tableau, Excel and other database software, and; SketchUp and Visual Novel, for 3D rendering and visual storytelling.

When it comes to the DHGA’s final capstone project, Prof Leung says he wants students to make their own personal choice of topic, one that is not only relevant but also that they find inspiring. “It will really depend on the specific interests of the students, but we do want it to have a very concrete, substantive digital component.”